Engineer Memoirs
Q ..
Did you have to go to the area
under your program frequently?
A ..
I made it a point to visit each area office at least once a month.
Q ..
Where were they located?
A ..
Tucson, Little Rock, and Wichita, and, indirectly, Vandenberg Air Force Base, where
three silos were being built by the Los Angeles District under its responsibility for all
work at Vandenberg. Over the period from August
until I left the program in
February 1962, almost without exception, I visited every area office at least once a
month and saw most of the individual work sites on each of those visits.
Q ..
Your deputy was Robert McKenzie?
.
A ..
Yes.
Q ..
And he was a civilian?
A ..
He was a civilian employee who came from the Los Angeles District with considerable
experience i:n both military and civil construction. He was an old-timer, well qualified,
and a tremendous help in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the project office
during my extended travel. He was the anchor, the fellow who stayed most of the time
at the office to keep things running on a day-to-day basis. He did an outstanding job.
Q ..
I wonder
would comment on some of the other individuals involved, such as the
other project directors- N o b l e and Whitesell as well as Hayes and Welling-their
suitability these assignments and experiences that you had with them.
A
Basically,
I won't comment much on individuals, as I have said, I think the
organizational idea was a good one. I think, too, that a good job was done in selecting
people to hold the key offices. With the decision to place a general officer as the head
of CEBMCO, Welling, who'd had considerable experience and who knew the Corps
well, was a good choice. He had served, among other jobs, as exec to the chief. His
background in dealing with the Corps and his experience in dealing with the Air Force
shortly
World War II helped. I think he was an excellent choice to hold his own
in a very strong Air Force environment. As a manager, he had his idiosyncrasies, and
these made him not always an easy person to work for or deal with. But, under the
circumstances, he was a good choice for the job.
Tom Hayes was a very practical, technically well-qualified individual. And I suspect,
though we have never talked about it, that his experiences as deputy to Welling may
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